Saturday 15 March 2014

Catching crumbs


A captured cloud of consciousness awakens me to a world beyond our own.

There is beauty in the everyday and a heart's yearning for more than eyes can see.

Spirit calls to spirit and inner ears long to hear.

These words, "Then King David went in and sat before the Lord" ~ 2 Samuel 7:18 made me stop and think.

How my body can be still but my mind is busy being restless, tethered to earthly concerns.

It takes a conscious effort of the will to cease inner striving, take thoughts captive to Christ. I struggle to release all.

Many thoughts clamour for attention and my habit is to pay them heed.

Learning slow through centering prayer to let go of the clamour and embrace silence.

How would it look to deliberately take a Sabbath rest of body, mind and spirit? To experience an inner peace that would follow us through the rest of the week.

When King David sat before the Lord in the passage above he was recognising God's authority over his life and future plans. 

It was a reverent placing of his life before the Author of life Himself, a sanctuary of surrender, a willing laying down and laying aside his own position and control. 

A trading of his plans for those God had in mind instead.

A trusting attitude for today and tomorrow, come what may.

In this he mirrors Christ ~  a conscious choice to set aside time for prayerful communion and a humble heart of surrender toward all that lay ahead of Him in the Father's plans.


'Resting'



Promises surround on every side
and there are choices to make ~ 
believe, trust, rest and abide
in the truth of Your word
or rake hopeful through worldly trash
glittering fake-bright as gold
where declarations breezy bold
and in-your-face brash are heard
I choose to sit at Your feet
enter a place of deep rest
where grace and mercy meet
embracing all that's best
Knowing the road ahead
may be steep and long
but You will always 
provide help to stay strong
And my mind finds ease
when I draw quietly aside
absorb Your peace
wash clean as tide
©JoyLenton2014
"Once the solitude of time and space has become a solitude of the heart, we will never have to leave that solitude" ~ Henri Nouwen 'Making All Things New'
I stumble through my days as I seek to know God's ways. Discover that listening is both active and still. A silence and a shouting.

There are sounds all around. Words shaping themselves into worship. All earth is filled with His glory.

And He waits. In the silence. In the stillness. Speaking soft and low. Whispering His love.

There are times when tuning in is as natural as breathing ~ times I savour and hunger for.

Mostly, life passes by and I snatch greedy at all which speaks of His grace, catching crumbs from the table. Manna for the moment.

And I leave you today, (hopefully hungering for more of His Presence) with an old Celtic prayer:

Deep peace of the running waves to you
Deep peace of the flowing air to you
Deep peace of the shining stars to you
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you
Deep peace of the watching shepherds to you
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you


Joining with friends Mel Laura





and Songs on Sunday




12 comments:

  1. Thank you. That are beautiful thoughts.

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    1. Hi Jedidja. It's lovely to see you here! Thanks for stopping by to offer encouragement. Blessings, my friend. :)

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  2. Loveliness..
    thanks for inspiriting, Joy!

    ps- would be a blessed addition at Weekend Reflections [photos showing reflections]
    You can link at today's FHC post if you want to find it directly -

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    1. Hi. Thank you for stopping by and suggesting I link up with you. I tried adding my link to your site but the spaces given didn't correspond to what was being requested. Hope it reaches you, anyway! Blessings :) x

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  3. It worked well, Joy - the space titles are below the spaces - confused me at first too,
    but sorted now =) and I so appreciate your lovely addition to the linkup !

    thank you for adding FHC link [+ button!] to your post - a sweet surprise - bless you!
    what a wonderful world of connxn we have to enjoy and use for goodness ...

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    1. Oh good! It's lovely to connect with you and discover some beautiful writers and photographers in the process. Hope to be able to link up another day! Bless you :) x

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  4. You have such a beautiful blog and beautiful photos. I love your prospective.

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    1. Thank you for stopping by to encourage me, Lisa! Blessings :)

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  5. Thanks Joy for the peace your words have brought me!

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    1. I'm grateful these words have helped and encouraged you. Thanks very much for visiting! :)

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  6. Great poetry, very encouraging. . . keep it up!

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    1. Thank you, Andrew! I really appreciate your encouraging comment. The majority of my poetry is currently being featured on my sister blog http://www.poetryjoy.com if you would like to read more. Bless you. :)

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